The most commonly occurring suspension arrangements in trucks for steerable wheels is of the type that utilizes a knuckle pin in order to form a steering knuckle, and by means of which the vehicle wheel can be pivoted in relation to an axle beam of the vehicle. The knuckle pin, which also often termed a “king pin”, is arranged substantially vertically and attached to the axle beam by means of a conical coupling.
The wheel is suspended from the axle beam via bearings arranged at the two free ends of the knuckle pin. At the upper end of the knuckle pin, a conical roller bearing can be used in order to take up both radial and axial forces. The lower bearing is often a slide bearing for taking up radial forces only.
Although previously known suspension arrangements (see SE 510 895 and patent application SE 9904731-8) provide satisfactory function in most instances, they have characteristics which result in comparatively high production and assembly costs. The knuckle pins in these examples are relatively expensive to manufacture, and also require careful machining of a conical bore into the axle beam. The bore in the axle beam and the similarly conical knuckle-in form a conical friction coupling. This means that the design of the knuckle pin and the axle beam also determines the relative positioning of these two components in the longitudinal direction, relative to the knuckle pin, when mounting the knuckle pin in the axle beam. Furthermore, special equipment is required for mounting the knuckle pin in the axle beam, and even if such equipment is used, it is difficult to predict the final position of the knuckle pin in relation to the axle beam with high accuracy and to ensure that the knuckle pin is arranged in the intended position in relation to the axle beam during the assembly. This in turn makes it complicated to mount the bearings on the knuckle pin, since an adjustment of the axial play will be necessary as a result of the uncertainty concerning the position of the knuckle pin.